Originally styled "Prince Fushimi Sadamaro", he was adopted into the Yamashina-no-miya household in 1869, followed by the Komatsu-no-miya house in 1885. He was then adopted by Emperor Meiji as a potential heir to the throne in 1886. He succeeded to the Higashifushimi-no-miya title upon the death of the first head, Prince Komatsu Akihito, on February 3, 1903.

King David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, visited Japan during his round-the-world tour of 1881. He was the first foreign head of state to visit Japan. During his visit, he proposed a marital alliance between the royal houses of Japan and Hawai'i, wherein his niece (Princess Ka'iulani) would marry Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (then styled Prince Yamashina Yorihito). Nothing came of the proposal, which might have made a significant impact on the eventual fate of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

On February 10, 1898, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito married Iwakura Kaneko (1876–1955), the eldest daughter of Prince Iwakura Tomomi. As the couple remained childless, the Higashifushimi-no-miya lineage became extinct with the death of Prince Yorihito.

In 1931, Emperor Hirohito directed his brother-in-law, Prince Kuni Kunihide, to leave Imperial Family status and become Count Higashifushimi Kunihide (hakushaku under the kazoku peerage system), to prevent the Higashifushimi name from dying out.

Dowager Princess Higashifushimi Kaneko became a commoner on October 14, 1947, with the abolition of the cadet branches of the Imperial Family by the American occupation authorities. She died in Tokyo in 1955.